l86 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



ready for the animal without extra effort on the animal's 

 part, which is not so in corn or other foods, strong in 

 carbohydrates from which the starch must be extracted 

 by the digestive apparatus." 



SOLVING THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 



Several mills for the manufacture of alfalfa foods have 

 been and are being established, and it is reasonable to 

 assume that the use of these foods will become quite gen- 

 eral in cities and districts remote from the alfalfa regions. 

 Whether or not the actual feeding value is appreciably 

 increased, or the nutritive constituents made more thor- 

 ougly available, is as yet not determined by sufficient 

 tests, nor has it been determined by any station test that 

 any factory food preparation is more economical than 

 alfalfa hay, where the hay can be obtained well cured 

 and with a reasonable proportion of its leaves. It is 

 altogether probable, however, that alfalfa meal will be 

 more economical in distant cities than baled hay. If these 

 preparations of alfalfa prove to be satisfactory to con- 

 sumers in distant markets, it will lead to the multiplication 

 of mills in the alfalfa regions, thereby decreasing the 

 cost of transportation and giving the grower a wider 

 and probably a better market. The use of the meal or 

 the food preparations is likely to prove most especially 

 valuable for dairy cows and poultry. 



